Referee Chris Busby during Leinster v Connacht and Ireland legend Alan Quinlan.
Referee Chris Busby during Leinster v Connacht and Ireland legend Alan Quinlan.
Ireland great Alan Quinlan claims that Mack Hansen is correct over his assumption that Connacht have been the victim of some bad refereeing calls.
The wing launched into an extraordinary tirade following his side’s 20-12 United Rugby Championship defeat to Leinster at the weekend.
Hansen felt that the officiating was inconsistent with a couple of incidents particularly frustrating the Ireland star.
The incidents in question
While the referee and his TMO deliberated over Josh Ioane’s hit on Gus McCarthy, they did not even look at Jordie Barrett’s cleanout on Bundee Aki, which saw the latter clutch his head.
Although Hansen did not state that Leinster themselves were consistently the beneficiaries of favourable refereeing, it led to a wider debate around how the top teams are officiated.
And Munster legend Quinlan, who was part of two Champions Cup triumphs in 2006 and 2008, duly had his say on the matter.
“If you’re going back, it’s not just this game, he’s referencing many games and it does happen,” he told Off The Ball. “It happens in football, in other sports as well. Toulouse get it in France.
“Those 50/50 calls, it just happens in sport.”
On the Barrett-Aki incident itself, Quinlan did appear surprised that it was not reviewed by the officials after seeing it live.
“Jordie Barrett comes in from the side on Bundee Aki. I saw this immediately in live play when I was in commentary. I thought there was something there and they’re going to look at that.
“It wasn’t reviewed at all, there were a couple of replays and they never got into it and never pushed to look at it.”
Hansen’s outburst too much?
Hansen and Connacht have garnered plenty of sympathy for their viewpoint, as well as an appreciation for the wing’s honesty post-match, but equally the sport takes pride in its respect for the match officials.
The Ireland star’s frustration appeared to be with the whole officiating team, rather than just the referee, but Chris Busby has naturally found himself in the midst of a storm.
With the likes of Wayne Barnes and Tom Foley revealing that they received death threats in the wake of last year’s Rugby World Cup, some will argue that comments such as Hansen’s will harm the game and lead to an increase in abuse.
Meanwhile, others state that match officials need to made more accountable for their decisions.
As for Quinlan, the former back-rower felt that Hansen was slightly out of line for the way he expressed himself, despite ‘admiring’ his honesty.
“It goes a bit too far, Chris Busby is a good referee,” he added. “To be honest, the TMO and assistant referees were inconsistent and didn’t always help Chris Busby.
“You’ve got to admire the player and person as well for being honest.”
